Chandigarh : License display must for medical stores: HC

the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday ordered the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh administrations to ensure the presence of a licensed pharmacist in person at medical stores.TNN | May 03, 2017, 06:00 IST

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday ordered the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh administrations to ensure the presence of a licensed pharmacist in person at medical stores.

Chandigarh: In a major crack down on pharmacies and medical stores running on rented registration certificates and selling intoxicants to make some quick bucks, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday ordered the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh administrations to ensure the presence of a licensed pharmacist in person at medical stores.

A division bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Sudip Ahluwalia passed the order in response to suggestions made by amicus curiae Navkiran Singh. The amicus curiae informed the high court that several chemist shops are run by persons who have licenses earned against a monthly rent. Singh also stated that these medical stores sell pharmaceutical drugs used by youth as intoxicants.

The court has also instructed display of pharmacist license along with the photograph at a prominent place in the chemist shop and regular monitoring of such shops by concerned authorities. It also directed that the license displayed in the chemist shops should be verified by the authorities with the pharmacy council concerned to guarantee genuineness of the certificates.

The HC has also asked the administrations of Punjab and Haryana and Chandigarh to file a status report on the issue. The matter would now come up for further hearing on July 31.

The court ruling comes in the wake of the Punjab drug haul case involving cop Jagdish Singh Bhola who has been dismissed.

The Punjab and Haryana high court has taken suo motu cognizance of the drug menace in Punjab. The court later impleaded the Haryana and Chandigarh administrations as party in the case.